


How To Train an Idiot

by senilesenpai



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anime, College, Dorks in Love, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Hide Nagachika - Freeform, Nagachika Hideyoshi Is a Dork, Reader Insert, Romance, UniAU, college student hide nagachika, collegeAU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2020-10-19 07:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20653322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/senilesenpai/pseuds/senilesenpai
Summary: Asian History can be hard, okay?...CollegeStudent!Hide x Reader(Contains cussing, sprinkles of sexual innuendos, language, and/or themes--and overall idiocy (from author and characters alike.))





	1. The Magazine

The whole boys' dormitory floor reeks of musk and pizza.

_Is this really how they live... _

You can't help but ask yourself this while grimacing so hard, you're sure your facial muscles are taut with visual distress. Truth be told, if you hadn't been contemplating so much, your ass would've jetted out of there half an hour ago. Yet here you were, shuffling from foot to foot, trying to think up some type of dumb monologue. Maybe some would consider it a plea, a cry for help of sorts. Regardless, you stood in front of the door to a foreign dorm, glaring at the wood a little more than the normal person should be. Your eyes run over the metal numbers nailed to the door for what seems like the thousandth time; there was no denying this was the room number your friend had texted you. A sigh leaves your lips before you finally knock.

It seems like an eternity passes by without an answer, and the smell in the hallway is somehow getting worse. You groan and turn on your heels to leave, but just as you take the first steps, the door creeps open gently. Your eyes fly back to the spiked mess of mangled orange and brown that peeks from behind the door. His eyes have dark baggage like he hasn't slept in a bit, they're barely open with the intensity of the bright lights in the hallway. From behind the door, only his bare shoulder is showing. _I guess I woke him up or something._

"What's up..." His dazed voice trails off as he rubs one of his squinting eyes with the back of his hand.

"Um, hi," you begin apprehensively, toying around with your phone, "I'm ____..."

He yawns, his eyes still closed, and a soft smile actually graces his face. Yet, he looks like he's ready to pass out any second.

"Hello there, ____," he hums, "I'm a little hungover."

"A little?"

"Okay, maybe a lot."

"Maybe I'm at the wrong dorm then..." you suggest. "Does Hide Nagachika live here?"

"Well, you're talking to him," he points out with nonchalance.

You tilt your head suspiciously, "No offense, but are you sure you're Hide Nagachika?"

"I'm pretty sure I am— and if not my student ID is an excellent liar," the laugh that follows is warm and easygoing as he contemplates the possibility, scratching his head. "Heh, you sound a little surprised."

"It's just..." You sigh while side-eyeing his bed head again, "You're _absolutely_ sure you're the real Hide Nagachika? The A+ history student?"

"Cute," he smiles sleepily and leans his head against the door frame. "How can I help you?"

"Christ... Well, long story short, I'm failing Asian History this semester and the midterm is coming up. A mutual friend told me that you take really good notes and that you actually fill out the study guides."

"That might be true," he concedes. "Go on."

"I guess I was hoping you'd be willing to let me study from your study guides?"

There's a beat of silence before he hums, and only then does he finally swing the door open completely.

"Woah, o-okay okay—!" You slap a clammy hand over your eyes in haste when his _naked_ lower half is fully exposed. This boy was so out of it that he forgot he was stark naked? Whatever he was drinking the night prior, you surely make a mental note to ask for some of that. 

"Come on in—"

"Listen, I'm gonna need you to put on some underwear before you say anything else," you inform him flusteredly, your hand still clasped over your face as heat rises to your cheeks.

"Shit, my bad."

He disappears for a brief moment and returns a second later.

"I'm decent, sorry 'bout that," he murmurs and you let out a deep, relieved breath you didn't know you had been holding as your eyes regain their vision. He's already searching through his notebooks intently so you merely step inside and close the door gently. The dorm surprisingly smells clean and fresh, and the change of atmosphere is pleasant. The place is covered in posters of superheroes, there are manga and clothes all over the desk and floor, but other than that it was relatively clean... for boys of course. You find yourself smiling subconsciously. Hide staggers throughout the dorm lethargically in newfound blue and black kitty boxers and a simple t-shirt, searching for more and more papers. You nearly choke on stifled laughter.

"You're lucky my roommate isn't here," he mumbles and chuckles. Another yawn slips from his lips, then he lowers his voice. "Terada drools over girls like you."

Your brows hitch inquisitively, "Girls like me?"

He leaves the question hanging in the air as he continues searching. After a moment, you hear him grunt contently, straightening up his finalized selection of papers in his hands.

"Here you go," he states groggily while thrusting a thick stack of several stapled packets doused with blue ink scribbles in your direction. You take the packets reluctantly. Your eyes gaze over the first page quickly. _Wow, she wasn't kidding, this kid's filled out this thing thoroughly..._

"Thanks."

"No problemo," he insists while stretching his arms to their full extent. You don't catch the long side glance he takes of you while you're more preoccupied with his notes. When you're still standing there a minute later, a minute longer than you should be in all honesty, he furrows his brows and rubs his eyes.

"Everything alright?"

"You don't want anything in return?" He gives you a funny look and you sigh. "Money, food, test answers? I know a guy—"

"You're fine," he assures you and shrugs, "They're yours for as long as you need them."

"Wow, thank you."

"Don't mention it."

You don't say anything more; instead merely heading for the door with a pleased smile, clutching the heavy stack to your chest. There's a smile that tugs at your lips, simply because you finally had some kind of chance at passing this class. You really owe your friend once this was all over.

"Um hey, ____, right?" he calls to you, suddenly sounding a little more alert than he had the entire time you've been there. You stop your feet in their tracks and cock your head back curiously.

"Hm?"

"I... well, if you ever feel like it, don't hesitate to drop by again if you need help understanding something—I mean, I know my handwriting can be a lil wild and hard to follow sometimes and Asian History is just difficult in general and you're probably super busy," he rambles on while scratching the back of his neck, the anxiety is practically palpable. "But, like, I don't mind tutoring you or whatever you know..."

"Will do," you chuckle, "As long as you promise to be fully clothed the next time I see you."

He offers the laziest grin, "Deal."

When you arrive back to your dorm, your roommate is sling over cushions, passed out on the couch. You roll your eyes and kick off your shoes quickly while wandering back towards your room so you can take a quick look at those packets before you hit the hay. This was going to be harder than you thought.

Your optimism begins disappearing before your eyes as you gaze at all the things you were gonna have to remember, all the writing this boy had done. In the midst of onset depression, you manage to clumsily knock the entire stack of study guides off your bed.

"Shit...!" you gripe before scrambling to pick up the mess. Your eyes catch a glimpse of something colorful among the mass of paper. "Hm? What's this..." You mumble to yourself curiously. Your fingers nimbly pull out the glossy colored paper from the middle of the pile to find a... magazine?

"_Cosplay Cuties: The Wrath of Pus_—Oh my God."

* * *

You don't make another journey back to the boys' dormitory floor until the week is over and you have no classroom preoccupy you. Your eyes scan the familiar door before knocking just like last time, yet this time there was no hesitation. There's a brief pause before the door is yanked open wide, and of course, it's Hide. Your mind reels with memories from the last time you were here; at least this time he looked like he had just gotten ready to go out for the day.

"A..Ah, hey," he greets you and the surprise in his voice is unmistakable. He's actually frozen for a second but then he inhales and leans against the door frame languidly, trying to play things cool. "I didn't think you would come back over."

"Of course I came back, I had to."

Immediately, his face lights up like match was lit behind his eyes. Hide offers a toothy grin at these words, a boost of confidence shooting through his system, "You want my amazing tutoring, don't you?"

"Well, actually," you pull a book from behind your back and hold it out, "I came to bring back your_ Cosplay Cuties_ porn—"

Your sickly coy voice is abruptly cut off by him grabbing your arm and pulling you inside the dorm hastily. He slams the door shut, "SHHH! PEOPLE ARE GONNA HEAR YOU!"

"Asian History doesn't seem to be the only hard thing you've taken care of lately, hm?" You tilt your head to the side questioningly and his cheeks flush a deep, dark scarlet.

"It..It's not mine! It's my roommate's!" He stammers, snatching the magazine from your hands deftly and chucking it under his roommate's bed in a hurry. You raise a brow in amusement; for a moment, you can swear you see him pout in disappointment, maybe at himself.

He runs his hands through his hair a few times, "Was that—was that all you came over here for?"

"Surprisingly, no," you offer him a genuine smile and he merely returns it with a skeptical gaze. You take a seat on his couch and sigh heavily.

"So?"

"Your notes are really great and all, but I just really don't understand the material," you admit and fidget with your fingers. "I'm really not good at memorizing dates or ancient terms, you know?"

"Uh-huh," he nods slowly. Hide pieces it together in his mind, "So what you're saying is—"

"I really do need you to tutor me. If you're not too busy, first and foremost."

Hide blinks, "You're joking, right...? _You_ want _my_ help?"

"Do I look like I'm joking? You offered last week, so I'm taking you up on that offer. You seem like a really smart guy, and I want your help in Asian History. What do you say?"

"Alright then, I guess," he nods again, smiling gently, albeit with apprehension, "Starting today, I'll tutor you."


	2. The Roommate

A handful of sessions later, you find yourself comfortably lounging on Hide's couch, feet propped up on the coffee table like the place is your own. Hide paces the room while gnawing on his lip keenly.

"Wrong, again."

"This is hopeless," you protest, "You already know I'm not good at this!"

"Just try again. The very first Emperor of Japan was?"

"It's that Itoku guy, right?"

"...You're getting warmer," he suggests, trying to sound optimistic, but he ends up laughing at himself. He could never be the type to lie. You grab the nearest pillow and chuck it at him.

"This isn't funny Nagachika—!"

You are both interrupted when you hear the doorknob being fumbled with, and simultaneously your attention turns to an unfamiliar guy strolling right through the doorway.

"What are you doing home?" Hide asks him without even hesitating.

"My class ended early today, so you're stuck with me for the next few hours," the boy replies, sticking his tongue out at Hide. He's about to say something else snide before his eyes land on you sitting idly on the couch, and he freezes.

"Who's the chick?"

While the guy eyes you, Hide sighs as if it takes so much of his energy just to answer the boy's questions.

"Terada, this is _____, my 'student'. ______, this is Terada, my roommate. Now leave us alone—"

"So _this_ is that history chick you won't shut up about," he says with a quirked eyebrow. You turn back to Hide with a curious smirk crossing your face; it's impossible not to notice the blush spreading across his cheeks, hitting ear to ear.

"You talk about me?"

Terada answers for him, "All the time."

"I let him know whenever you're coming over so he doesn't bother us, but that's it. Don't get a big head," he tells you defensively, offering his roommate a bewildered gaze. You peer over at Terada's face and he nods while laughing.

"Yeah, _okay_," he murmurs sarcastically and leaves you two to throw a few things in his closet.

"Anyways..." Hide rubs the back of his neck uneasily. "Back to stuff that _actually matters_."

He huffs the last part loud enough for Terada to hear and all you can do is chuckle at their apparent banter. You two continue talking comfortably about the Meiji Restoration and Commodore Perry for what seems like forever...

Your phone lights up sometime later with a text from your roommate and you curse, "Shit, I'm in trouble. I was supposed to get dinner tonight."

You stand from the couch and rush to pick up all your stuff.

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah, it's already 5PM dweeb," you argue and his brows raise in amazement. He glances at the clock and, sure enough, the hours have flown by faster than he thought. He frowns and feels that he's a little more disappointed than he should be while watching you pack your things back into your bag.

"I'll see you later," you tell him with a cheeky smile and head for the door to leave.

"Uh, wait!" he calls out and you turn to meet his eyes, "Don't you wanna go over the Bakumatsu one more time you before you leave...? We didn't really talk about Sakamoto's death? Or the way he—"

"It's okay Hide, I feel pretty confident about everything we covered. I'm pretty sure he won't ask us about it, but thanks anyway," you explain indifferently, offering him a small smile. Your feet proceed to move once more.

"U-um—" He can't help himself and grabs for your wrist before you can make it any further. You look back and furrow your brows at him.

"Is everything okay?"

"I... just... I really think we should review or something one more time before you leave! Just to be on the safe side, you know? Mid-term is pretty soon and this is a decent-sized section. It'll be super quick, I promise."

If you were being honest with yourself, it really seemed like Hide was making up excuses just for you to stay over with him a bit longer. You convinced yourself that most of the time you were just a nuisance to him, but maybe he did actually enjoy your company...? Whatever the reason, you give him a curt nod and agree to review one more time and one time only. The cute bashful smile that stretches on his face makes your chest swell and you join him back on the couch while he rambles on once more about the Bakumatsu. You make sure to pay very close attention to every excess detail his lips spill, just a little more enthusiastically than usual.

* * *

One lazy day in the dorm, you two are mulling over a paper that was assigned in class. While Hide scribbles away at his notebook, you start drifting off-topic, which was typical.

"Terada comes by a lot more than he used to," you hum quietly when you hear the aforementioned's voice talking with some other frat guy noisily out in the hallway. Hide blatantly rolls his eyes at the mention of his name. "Who knows dweebus, maybe he's interested in studying with us?"

"I doubt that _very_ seriously," he mutters, "He's just being nosy, as per usual."

"C'mon now, you know what they say. Three heads are better than two."

"Here," he says and hands you his pen. You stare at it and then back at him confusedly. "Kill me with it."

"Hide!" you exclaim and slap his arm. You let out a goofy laugh that makes his stomach tie into flustered knots and your laughs mingle in the air while the doorknob jiggles a bit. The door opens a second later.

"Hey roomie," Hide sighs out without even looking back.

"Hi Terada," you also acknowledge him as he steps inside the dorm. He ignores Hide all together and grins at you.

"Oh, hey babe, you're over here today. What a coincidence."

You falter to respond at the candid pet name as a rosy hue spreads across your cheeks in reflex. Hide replies for you instead, grimacing into his book and writing a little more forcibly than usual.

"Yes, a very _unfortunate_ coinkydink indeed."


	3. The Samurais

A few days later, Hide decides to tutor you somewhere else other than his dorm for a change of atmosphere. You two sit in a booth at the Anteiku coffee shop, exchanging some key terminology for the ‘World Wars’ section of the test. While he goes on about important dates in the wartime history, you seem to be more preoccupied with drawing doodles in the margin of your textbook. Quite carelessly, you gently etch an endless array of flowers onto the paper as he rambles on. In your defense, you both had been there for some hours now, so it was not surprising in the slightest that your brain had finally decided to short circuit. A fraction of the time had even been spent introducing you to Hide's best friend, Kaneki. 

The dynamic between Hide and Kaneki intrigued you immensely; they were two opposite sides of the same coin, so different in personality and looks, and yet their auras blended so well. Hide sure did attract a wide array of people in his life, but that was to be expected with the extensiveness of his personality. And, although you hadn't even known him for that long, it's something that you can admit is admirable. Kaneki, however, seemed to make Hide smile in a way you had not yet witnessed previously. It was nice to see him more relaxed in this setting.

Staring down at the way your fingers flex while shading a petal intently, your mind begins to plunge deeper and you start to muse more about that aforementioned smile that you’ve been seeing so much of lately— especially the cheesy grins he uses when you actually get answers correct. Then, you find yourself smiling at the secondary thought of his teasing laugh and pout when you get things wrong too. You couldn’t decide whether you enjoyed getting things right or wrong more… 

Suddenly, you feel someone’s clammy fingers pinch your cheek gently.

“Ouch!”

“Hey, space cadet, are you even listening to me?” Hide complains. You nod blindly and clear your throat.

“Of course I was!”

The immediate deadpan of his face is enough to make you internally cringe at your carelessness.

He crosses his arms, “Oh really? Then what did I just say?” 

“Something about… history and… Japan? Really interesting stuff,” you nod semi-confidently. He slumps onto the table in a heap of aggravation at your bullshitted response. 

“I..." he sighs, "Your cup of coffee could've told me a smarter lie in half the words.”

“You can’t say I was wrong…” you tell him matter-of-factly as you fold your arms against your chest. He picks himself up and waits for you to process his insult to it's fullest potential before he responds, of course. “The fuck, wait a minute, are you implying that I'm stupid?!”

Hide let’s out a playful, abrupt laugh.

“I'm not saying I think you're stupid.” His lips smirk while reshuffling the index cards, “I just think sometimes your mouth and your brain go through more divorces than reality show housewives.”

“I hope you know that once this session is over, we’re gonna fight, right outside in the parking lot,” you tell him plainly.

* * *

You follow behind Hide through the shelves of the library as he pulls out random books every few minutes and puts them back after glancing at them intently. All the while he continues with his usual routine when you two come there, quizzing you throughout the process. 

“The Edo period began when?”

“1603.”

He smiles to himself proudly, “And what did the Edo period deal with, in short?”

You’re silent and wince as you think of something to say, “Um, something involving Edo.”

Hide stops dead in his tracks and gives you the stalest glare you’ve ever seen him possess. You retaliate with a pout.

“We literally just went over this, _____.”

“I forgot already!”

“So remember! Jog your memory. Where is Edo even located?”

“Tokyo, duh. That’s where the ancient samurais fought the most, easy peasy.”

“Okay, sooo who was appointed as Shogun? And what happened to Osaka Castle during the Edo period that affected the samurais?”

You try to remember but you just can’t, and it frustrates you more than he knows. You know you know it, but the information never comes at the times you need it to. One would think that since he's encountered it enough times he'd have developed a solid poker face, but Hide still has to keep himself from laughing at the way your face naturally contorts when you’re frustrated and deep in thought. Eventually, you give up on the answer and narrow your eyes at the boy.

“You know what? Why don’t you build yourself a nerdy little dweeb time machine and go ask them yourself, okay?”

“If you're gonna be a smartass, first you gotta be smart. Otherwise, you're just an ass, you know…” he informs you with a sneer tugging at his lips. You give him the finger.

“Fuck you.”

“Name a time and a place, loser. As long as it’s not in Edo,” he snickers teasingly.

“Nah, at my place,” you retort with a broad smile, “While you’re at it when you come over why don't you slip into something more comfortable— like a coma.”

There’s a long pause of silence between you both before you two burst out in laughter at each other, attracting some well deserve stares for disturbing the silence in the area. Who cared? You shove him playfully and, just like that, you two are back to quizzing. Hide makes a brief mental note that he actually really likes how feisty you get when you’re angry and frustrated. He figures he’ll probably regret that later on, but for now he kindly thanks the samurais. 

* * *

A couple of weeks later, the two of you are back at Anteiku going over the assigned reading the professor gave in class the week prior. After some thought, Hide had been taking you here a lot lately. And although a fair excuse would be that his best friend worked here and he could see him more, there was something strange about the way Hide had been acting lately in general. Whenever you asked to come over for tutoring, he was very insistent that you _did not_ come over to his dorm anymore, let alone the boys’ dormitory at all. It only bothered you slightly, but still, the thought stuck with you in the back of your mind. Asking him what was up wouldn’t hurt, right? Maybe you were intrigued by something pointless.

“Hey, Hide,” you utter into your shared silence.

“What’s up?” 

You hesitate briefly and continue to watch his dark brown eyes scan his textbook before finally saying what’s on your mind.

“We’ve been going to your dorm to study less and less lately…”

“For a doofus, you’re quite observant,” he says sarcastically, taking a brief sip of his tea. However, his eyes don’t move from his book.

“Is there any particular reason why?” 

He doesn't miss a beat with his reply, “Nope. Why would there be?”

“I don’t know,” you narrow your eyes at him curiously, “You were so hellbent at me coming over there all the time before, and now we only study at the library or this coffee shop. And you tell me not to even meet you at the dormitory…”

“You’re right,” he sighs while flipping a page a bit dramatically, “Obviously I’m hiding my new uber mushy romance mangas from you. How tragic you find out this way.”

Curiously enough, scrutinizing him even harder from across the table revealed his now stiffening body language. Although you knew he was joking, you now could also see he was actually caught off guard by your questions. In the most basic sense, he was definitely a little tenser than before and still unable to make eye contact; Hide was typically really good at hiding his emotions nonetheless. You hum when you come to your conclusion. 

“You’re not telling me something."

His hand freezes mid flip this time. 

“____...”

“Hide.” 

“____!”

“Hide!”

He groans and cracks under the pressure of your intent gaze.

“Okay fine, honestly… I just don’t want Terada bothering you anymore while you're over. That's all.”

Your brows rise, “Bothering me?”

“You know… like flirting with you… amongst other things. I’m sure you don’t like being hit on or called a babe every few minutes when you’re trying to study, yeah?” When you remain silent for longer than acceptable in his mind, simply to gauge his reaction, and he finally glances up at you from his book, “Dude, please don’t tell me you actually like that…”

“What if I do?” You counter, just for the fun of it.

“You come over to study with me, not to enjoy his ogling!” He complains with a dull frown lingering on his face. Your eyes grow wide in surprise at how worked up he actually is over this, but then you giggle with realization.

“Oh my God, is Mr. Hideyoshi getting a bit jealous?”

“I am not jealous! It’s not like we’re dating or anything-” he grumbles uncomfortably, “As your tutor, I just don’t appreciate him distracting you while we’re trying to prepare you.”

“I don’t pay any mind to Terada or his useless thirst,” you reassure him. You can practically see the feeling of relief wash over him in its entirety and it takes everything in you to stifle a bubble of laughter, “But we don’t have to go back to studying at your dorm. I like the open atmosphere here.”

“Good, cuz we weren’t gonna go back anyways,” he huffs. You roll your eyes and reach across the table, grabbing his cup and taking a brief sip. Hide snatches it from you and mutters something to himself grumpily about how people keep messing with _stuff that's his_. You decide to disregard that ambiguous remark...

“You don’t have to worry, you know,” you tell him and smirk, “I promise I won’t give my attention to anyone else but you, especially while we’re studying. Okay, _ babe_?”

The pink dusting his cheeks is enough to tell you he understands you loud and clear, and you simply go back to reading your textbook with a faint smile gracing your face.


	4. The Date

Four in the afternoon... the sun was starting to set. Your leg bounces while glancing at the time, once again, and sighing for probably the millionth time in the last hour. 

“Where is he?”

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” Kaneki hums optimistically. Meanwhile, his fingers tap away at his phone; you figure he’s texting Hide to make sure his words to you aren’t just empty hopes. 

You order another cup of tea, what would be your third, and simply exhale the stress from your body. You wanted nothing more than to go home in all honesty, but Kaneki had kept you from going through with that idea. Maybe he wanted your company, maybe he actually had faith in Hide...who knew. 

Suddenly, a piping hot cup of oolong tea is placed beside your arm as you’re writing down more terms to keep your mind busy from the situation at hand. 

“Thank you, Nishiki.” 

He brushes those three words off like usual. Normally, he wouldn’t bother making conversation with you, but today you’re wearing a windbreaker that looks all too familiar to the ghoul. His eyes flicker back and forth between your books and your jacket hitching his brows.

“Wait, you go to my university too?” he murmurs to himself while eyeing the emblem on your chest. He hadn't realized he had spoken close enough for you to hear him until he heard you hum back at his remark.

“Do you always stare blatantly at females’ chests or are you just that friendly on Fridays?”

Nishiki scoffs and rolls his eyes, “Excuse me for looking at something in my line of view.”

You swear you hear him mutter something about the size, for better or for worse, and scowl at his back as he walks off.

“She comes here all the time to study, how have you never noticed that?” Kaneki rebuttals for you as he’s shaking his head.

“I’ve always seen her, dipshit. Thank you for the irrelevant information.” Nishiki sighs, slumping into the seat of an adjacent table, “I just figured she was his latest attempt at online dating. But the bad kind where the chick won’t leave you alone after you reject her, you know?”

“Uh, ouch? I’m actually offended, prick,” you protest, “He’s my tutor for your information!”

He stands with a roll of his eyes, “Forget it, I forgot Hide is on a date right now anyway.”

Your face clouds over suddenly.

“A date?”

“Nishiki!” Kaneki suddenly yips, looking at the boy with wide eyes, “That wasn’t something that needed to be said, geez.”

“Why? She said she didn’t know where he was, I answered.”

“Yeah, why?” You turn back to the boy indignantly, now intrigued at why this information would’ve been better kept a secret. The way your arms fold against your chest in a huff makes Kaneki clam up. 

“I mean, you  _ like _ Hide, don’t you?”

For what seems like an eternity, your brain loses all focus and you disconnect from reality as soon as the last syllable falls from Kaneki’s mouth. 

Of course you didn’t like Hide! …Did you? Hide had never shown interest in you like that… at least not that you recall. There had only been mediocre banter and shameless pity flirting between you both at times, almost always initiated by you of course. But there were plenty of times where he made your heart jump just by smiling at a correct answer or flicking your forehead at a wrong one... What about the times where you went out of your way to dress nicer for the coffee shop sessions, or highlighting everything in green because it’s one of his favorite colors? 

_ Oh shit— _

“____?” 

Kaneki waves his hand in front of your vacant eyes and you finally come to your senses. 

“Yes?” You simply grab your pen and continue to write quietly, albeit with a little more pressure on your pen than before. 

“I know you like Hide, it’s okay,” he mumbles, just low enough so no one else can hear.

“As an individual, sure,” you mutter back without even sparing him a second glance. “That’s how friendships work Kaneki.”

“You know what I mean ____.” 

“No I really don’t, please enlighten me?”

He allows his chin to plant itself in his palm, cocking his head curiously.

“I can see it in your face.”

You offer him a lazy eye roll, “I just didn’t know he was on a date is all, good for him. Congrats.”

“Not just today, every day,” he clarifies, “For a while now.” 

Your hand stops writing mid-sentence and you simply sigh. Then, you close your notebook altogether.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about Kaneki. However, maybe next time he should just let me know he’s swapping spit with someone before I waste hours of my life waiting for him at a coffee shop. Maybe I want to go on dates instead of studying too, okay?”

“The funny thing is he doesn’t go on many. Maybe it’s because he spends up all his free time tutoring you here in this hellhole too,” Nishiki snickers while drying out a teapot. 

Your heart drops to your toes. 

He was probably right; you do take up all his time. It was obvious he didn’t look at you as anything beyond a good friend or pupil, you’re sure he would've made it obvious if he was. In all honesty… maybe you  _ were _ distracting him from exploring his love life with your constant studying and pestering. You ball your fists up under the table with newfound sadness.

“I have to go now. I’ll catch you guys later.”

“But wait h-he’s probably gonna be here soon—!”

You struggle to put your books back in your bag fast enough before bidding them both goodbye with the flick of your wrist and exiting the shop. The brisk air that hits your face is so much more comforting on your red, hot cheeks.

* * *

_ Damn my cheeks hurt…  _

Hide can feel his face starting to get taut with the way he’s been forcing himself to smile throughout the last 2 hours. It was something that he had mastered a long time ago, but he had never had to do it for so long before. 

The girl sitting across from him, some pretty gal from his mathematics class, was mindlessly chatting away. He never knew someone could talk about themselves for  _ so long _ . Every now and then, he’s thrown in an easy nod or a nervous chuckle to keep the illusion of his attention. He should’ve said no to this little “date”. However, Hide was a person who struggled with possibly h urting someone’s feelings. She seemed nervous approaching him in class the prior day. There was no way he could’ve flatly told her no without deflating her self-esteem, his brain had short-circuited in the moment of it all. And in that long, agonizing moment, he couldn’t even come up with an excuse if he wanted to. So now here he is, feeling his brain lose so many cells he might need a transplant. 

He takes a brief look at his lockscreen and realizes he’s got a text from Kaneki almost an hour ago. 

** _Kaneki-kun: [Are you almost done?? We’ve been here waiting…]_ **

We? Suddenly, his brain clicks. 

“Oh shit,” Hide says aloud and immediately follows with slapping his hand over his mouth. His date gazed back at him with a face that kind of looks like a mix of confusion, bewilderment, and offense.

“Excuse me?” 

“I’m so sorry,” he sputters, “I—Uhm I just realized my mom asked me to pick her up from work today and it’s almost time for me to be over there.”

Hide starts putting on his jacket without even worrying if she believes his rushed lie or not. 

“Oh okay, well I’ll text you, yeah?” She hums, but Hide is already halfway to the door, wriggling his fingers in a haste wave to feel less rude in his exit.

“Yeah, talk to you later!”

_ As if…  _ On the jog to his bike, his cold fingers fumble around with his phone to call you.  The familiar chime of your phone’s ringtone steals your attention and you peer at the screen for a few seconds; it’s Hide, of course.

You take a deep breath to settle your emotions before answering it as calmly as ever.

“Wow, look who finally knows how to use his phone,” you gibe, ceasing your walking altogether. You can hear him sigh heavily.

“_____...” he breathes out uneasily. “I-”

“You?”

“I’m sorry for not showing up,” Hide’s voice is genuine, and you can tell that he’s somewhat annoyed with himself and his situation, “I got caught up in some shit at school.”

You can’t control the slightly bitter chuckle that tumbles from your lips into the phone and shake your head. Why was he lying?

“I’ve been waiting for… 2 hours I think now?” you reply simply. 

“I can’t really explain, it wouldn't even be worth hearing. But… please don’t be like that.” He groans and there’s silence on the other end for a long moment, “Just wait up for me, I’ll be there soon, coffee on me?”

_ Click. _

“Hello?” Hide mumbles at the sound of silence. 

10 minutes later the familiar chime of the Anteiku doorbell rings out amongst the shop chatter; a huffing Hide soon follows his way into the ambiance noise after. His worries are confirmed as soon as he spots Kaneki alone at their usual take, finishing off a cup of tea. His shoulder slump in defeat.

“Where’s ____?”

“She left,” Nishiki pipes up somewhere, and Kaneki winces at his bluntness. 

“What?” Hide looks at Kaneki for confirmation and the look on his face tells no lies, “Why?”

“You’re almost 2 hours late Hide. Really?” 

“I forgot about tutoring today, okay? It’s not like I did it on purpose. I zoned out during the chick's hour-long monologue.”

“And, you cheated,” Nishiki adds quickly. 

“Cheated? What? We aren’t dating!” He sputters, looking to Kaneki for reassurance, “Why was it even mentioned? She had a problem with my date or something?”

Kaneki didn’t feel like it was his place to say anything on  _ that _ topic so he simply guides the conversation away. 

“No no, just the lateness… Maybe you should just apologize and say it won’t happen again?” Kaneki suggests. 

“I did! She hung up on me.”

“Oh, you really messed up then,” Touka pipes up from her spot behind the counter she’s diligently wiping, “She’s definitely upset if she hung up.”

Hide winces, but chuckles soon after, “Oh come on, y’all are being dramatic. She’ll get over this small flub in a couple of days max, right?”

His question is left unanswered by all who hear it, it's utter awkward silence, but was there really a realistic answer that he’d like to hear at the moment?


	5. The Phone Call

Your final decision on the matter is to avoid going to Anteiku at all costs, and moreover, you choose to avoid contact with Hide altogether. On the rare occasion you were in the same area, he seemed oblivious to your quick glances and successful attempts to shield your face. It was more than enough embarrassment to have heart-expanding, face-flustering thoughts every time you saw him. Therefore, the best strategy you had come up with was to simply not see him at all. Easy, right?

Well, it had been for a handful of days. 

“_____,” your roommate hums from the front room in the apartment. Making absolutely no attempt to pause the research paper you're so feverishly typing away at, you groan. 

“On a scale of one to ten, how badly do you need me to stop?” you mutter back.

She dodges the question hesitantly, “There’s a… particular boy here for you outside of our door...”

You feel like you can't get up fast enough, whipping into the hallways and jogging to the end to secretly peep around the corner. Thank God she hadn’t opened the door yet as you meet panicked eyes with Aimi. You shake your head feverishly before silently pleading with her to just tell him you weren’t here. 

Aimi takes a deep breath before opening the door and immediately offering Hide a small smile.

“Hello.”

“Hi,” Hide heaves out, like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. “Sorry for intruding, is this where ____ ____ lives?”

Aimi’s eyes soften at how wholesome this boy was; and as much as she felt bad for lying to the poor kid, she figured you had your reasons. 

“Yeah, can I ask how you found that out actually?”

That wasn’t a question you had necessarily expected your roommate to ask, but hearing it said aloud made you curious as well. How the hell did he find you here?! 

Hide’s face immediately flushes, “I- I just asked around honestly. Wow, that sounds bad, I’m sorry.”

He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Uh...”

“I’m her tutor, if that helps...” he mentions quickly. Hide’s anxious fingers wrap around his phone a bit tighter than usual with increasing anxiety, “I just haven’t heard from her in a while, so I wanted to see if she was here maybe. And if she’s okay, of course.”

“She’s not here at the moment, but I can leave a message,” Aimi replies optimistically after a beat of hesitation. Hide looks defeated, his shoulders immediately slumping. The mere sight makes your chest pang with the dull feeling of sadness. Suddenly, you feel so guilty about lying. 

“Ah, okay. If you can just let her know to text Hide back. Thank you.” 

The way he bows in gratitude that she even accepts his request… 

_ I’m so sorry Hide. _

* * *

You're strolling past a bookcase one of the librarians had so kindly guided you to while your eyes scan the barcodes intently.

_ NAG...NAK…NAR...NAT... _ _  
_ "Natsume, sweet,” you squeal triumphantly. Someone eyes you from across the room and you wave sheepishly. Without another word, you swipe the textbook from its snug spot but end up stopping dead in your tracks. Behind the book, a familiar bright grin twitches with anticipation.  
“Good God, are you stalking me?” You sputter in a hushed tone. His eyes gleam with playfulness.  
“You won’t answer my tex—” he begins, but before he can finish you've shoved the book back in its spot and scurried off to some other section. He removes his face from the bookcase with furrowed brows and jogs after you quickly.  
“You know, you could be happy to see me, actually say hi, and like...I don't know...not shove books in my face? Sheesh.”  
“Hi Hide, happy?”  
He brushes off the solemn, sarcastic remark and chuckles under his breath at your obvious irritation. Unfortunately, the poor boy didn’t see anything outside of your previous normal banter from weeks ago.

“You take forever to find stuff precious idiot,” he complains and you scoff, throwing him a dumbfounded gaze.  
“You were sitting there watching me and waiting for this whole time?!”  
“Mmm, more or less,” he muses, genuinely clueless. You were certain he didn’t have any bad intentions, but it was just making things harder for you. You groan and tread on, hoping to maybe lose him somewhere in one of the aisles…

Apparently, that was too much to wish for, and you hear his steps actually grow faster.  
“How did you find me this time, huh? You asked more people of my whereabouts, creeper?”  
“I could smell your brain rotting without me from a mile away,” he retorts and you roll your eyes.  
“What are you now? A ghoul?”  
Scrunching up your nose and ominously wiggle your fingers in front of him in jest, you try your best to give him a reason to go away. 

“How rude...” He fakes a gasp.

Since walking away in this obstacle course of a building utterly fails, you pull a chair to an empty table and plop down in it hastily. Yet, he follows suit, again.

“Out of all the other empty tables in this place…”

“What is your deal? Are you really still mad about what happened last week?” Hide laments, a frown finally gracing his face, “I said I was sorry.”

“I’m not mad, I’m just busy.”

You remove your laptop from your bag and place it on the table gingerly. Hopefully, soon he would catch a hint, right?

“To the point where you can’t text me anymore? Sounds bogus.”

_ Of course he wouldn’t, he’s clueless... _

You groan, “Shouldn't you be in class or doing homework or something that doesn't involve following me around?”  
He reaches out and grabs the closest notebook in your pile, scanning the inside intently.

“Maybe I needed a little motivation from one of my favorite people for...calculus? Looks like alphabet soup.”

He offers you a wholehearted grin that hits you in your core—_ One of your favorite people, huh? _

When you fail to answer he sighs heavily.

“How ‘bout we study this evening, I know the test is in a couple of weeks—”

“Again, I’m busy.”

“Okay… maybe tomorrow?”

“I work tomorrow.”

“Well, wanna catch lunch then—”

“Leave me alone, please!” your voice cracks as you yelp out abruptly in the middle of the library.

You suddenly glance around at the few people seated at nearby tables who had turned to stare at you two, murmuring on account of your more or less panic-stricken outburst. Your face flushes in utter humiliation. 

“_____?” Hide catches your attention again with a soft voice. There’s so much bewilderment and dejection etched onto his face that you almost want to just run away.

“Please, Hide,” you almost plead in an equally hushed voice. “I want to be left alone.” 

There’s a beat of silence before he pushes himself and his chair from the table and picks up his backpack. 

“I’m sorry.”

That’s the last thing he mutters before hiking his way out of the library doors a moment later.

* * *

A solid week passes by without any contact whatsoever.

The midterm was in a week and you had been solo-studying your ass off for the last few, and struggling was an understatement. Aimi had suggested that you two go out this evening for dinner in a stress-free evening, one where you could relax and take your mind off of this test. The evening had been pretty decent— you hadn’t sat down with her like this in a while, and to have a normal conversation about dumb memes and her love life was refreshing.

The light conversation is interrupted by your cellphone singing. Your eyes glance at the CID: Hideyoshiii

You didn’t think he would actually text your number again after that library incident but, surprise, here he was calling you and getting in your head as usual. Nonetheless, your hands can’t snatch the phone up off the table fast enough so Aimi won’t see, and you tap the button to pick up apprehensively.

“Hello...?” There's no answer. Just muffled sounds of laughter and shouting and some unintelligible song that definitely needed to retire early. You want to merely hang up—maybe he butt-dialed you? But, for some reason, your mouth beckons his name with a mind of its own, “Hide?”

“Hiya beautiful,” his charming voice immediately hums on the other end of the phone. Your cheeks feel unbearably hot, and Aimi notices.

_ “You okay?” _ She mouths and you nod your head feverishly. Her attention trails back to her own phone while she gives you your space to speak on the phone. Instead, you decide to excuse yourself from the table altogether and hastily jog to the bathroom, so fast you almost trip on your own feet.

All the while, Hide is calling your name left and right into your ear.

“_____?” He beckons in a honeyed voice for your attention and you're able to finally give it to him when you confirm the door is securely locked.

“Hide, if this is some… some stupid joke—” 

“I just wanted to hear your voice again... it makes me get butterflies."

Your breath catches in your throat and you realize exactly why he's being so endearing. There's an obviously intoxicated tremor laced to his voice and it's unmistakable: _ he's drunk_. 

“Yoooo-hoooo?” He hums with a bit of sadness seeping through his voice.

“I'm sorry,” you begin, not exactly knowing how to handle the whole situation. Hide chuckles halfheartedly on the other end, seemingly at the way your voice only comes out in a whisper. “Thank you?”

“I miss you ____... so so much.”

“I-I don't think that's something you should be telling me...” you murmur, embarrassment creeping back onto your cheeks. You want to groan in frustration of your heartstrings being pulled on, but you try to keep a handle on your emotions or else people outside would hear. “Should I come get you?”

“I want to see you right now, please,” he mutters into the phone drunkenly and you almost lose his voice in the rest of the chaotic mess flooding the speakers. “FaceTime me.”

Immediately the request pops up on your screen and you decline it with the utmost speed.

“No, I’m not gonna do that! Where are you Hide?”

“I'm at... a party! With my friends,” he breathes out and chuckles, “You’re coming, right?”

You think for a brief moment. What would he do in this situation for you? The fact of the matter is, Hide would do anything you asked him to, and not just because you asked. He’d do it because he wanted to, because you were his friend. So, what did you want to do in this very moment?

“Yes,” you finally sigh and run your fingers through your hair. “Send me your location and I’ll come to get you.”

“Of course, pretty girl. I’ll be waiting.”

That's the last thing he says before the line drops. No matter how red your cheeks are with frustration at that moment, there's no way you can deny that he's absolutely adorable when he's drunk, and it bothers you that you're so flustered by it. After a couple of weeks of trying to give up on him, your resolve cracked over one stupid drunken call. 

You leave the bathroom to find a bored, hungry Aimi sitting all by herself at the table awaiting your return. Immediately, guilt washes over you and you hesitate on telling her the truth about why you’re leaving. But before you can even speak, she can read the guilt all over your face. Her eyebrow quirks up curiously almost simultaneously with the ding of your phone, the text message you had been waiting for finally arriving.

“Geez, what is it now... You look like you’re constipated,” she comments knowingly, her shoulders slouching in disappointment.

“I have to leave…”

She rolls her eyes and heaves a sigh, “So I’ll be finishing by myself. Great.”

“It’s important Ai,” you plead, handing her some money for the bill. She takes it reluctantly. “Hide is… he’s drunk and I’m picking him up.”

“You barely speak to the guy anymore and he’s already convinced you to be his designated driver this evening, huh?” She asks you incredulously. 

You frown, “Hush, it’s just a one-time thing. And for your information, I offered.”

“Fine, fine. I won’t be a _ cockblock _,” she mutters with a slight smirk, “Should I leave the door unlocked tonight then?”

“It is not a cockblock, there’s nothing to be blocking! And please.”

You mouth her a thank you on your way out of the cafe, hurrying to your car.


	6. The Bathroom

By the time you get through nightlife traffic, you make your way towards the end of a dark cul-de-sac. Your eyes confirm the street name Hide had texted you about. You don’t even have to look for the house number, there’s only one house with the lights on and the music is loud enough to be heard on the outside, despite it being muffled. 

_ Why couldn’t he just fucking call Kaneki? Literally any other person in this situation would’ve been more ideal to take him home, _ you think.

And yet, you still find yourself determined to continue through the entire process of getting marked with that horrid smelling sharpie ‘X’ on your hand for the indication of your age - as if anyone followed that - subsequently squirming your way through sweaty Kamii University frat boys and equally sweaty females to reach the staircase. Logically, there’s no way Hide could be downstairs, simply due to the fact that the music was coming from upstairs. Thus, you trek upstairs and gaze around for that familiar spiked orange and brown hair.

A hefty sigh of relief leaves your body in a matter of minutes—there he is. 

Before exiting your car, you had played out the scenario multiple times in your head, wondering how you both would react to seeing each other. You figured the most plausible option would be maybe you’d smile upon finding him... well... that is, had he not been talking to a girl. Your fingernails dig into the material of your jeans while the subtle feeling of anger trickles you over. _ He’s allowed to talk to whoever he wants ____ _ , somewhere in your deep _ deep _ subconscious you remind yourself of this constantly, however, your jealousy and paranoia both hit you like a train. Regardless, you continue moving forward. It’s not too long before Hide finally looks over after following the eyes of a friend and his face brightens at your mere presence. 

“Hey!” He exclaims, the excitement in his voice is almost palpable. He goes to meet you halfway. You finally crack a weak smile, but it doesn’t stay for long before he suddenly grabs your arm and yokes you closer. 

“Hide—!”

“Dance with me ____.”

Your eyes catch the glances of both his friends in other directions, faces laced with questionable smirks that make you flustered. But, when you catch the abandoned girl's face, any ounce of embarrassment drains from your body. It’s easily replaced with a smugness that you know was probably inappropriate in the moment. 

“We should really go home Hide,” you object, voice muffled in the fabric of his hoodie. He has you pressed to him so tight that you almost can’t breathe, and your feet can’t seem to match his sloppy tempo. You can’t lie to yourself, your small spike of jealousy has influenced your choices at that moment. Maybe in an alternate universe, you would’ve continued dancing with him to his heart’s content, just for the fun and happiness under the pretenses of him not being able to remember the next morning. A night to forget all of your tension and rift with the knowledge it'd be long forgotten by the time it mattered. And yet, the idea of you leaving together in this current moment was _ much _ more satisfying. 

His ears quirk up, “You want to leave... with me?” 

“Yes, please. I think we should go,” you repeat. His feet halt and he finally releases you. You gaze up at him with genuinely concerned eyes and it’s no surprise that he instantly melts. 

“Okay.”

You confirm with his friends that he had not driven himself there before grappling at his fingers and moving to leave. The feeling of relief washes over you the moment you both step foot out the door.

* * *

You pull up on the curb of the boys’ dormitory and hop out of the car, quickly following behind a haste Hide to make sure he doesn't stumble. Even in his state, he was a pretty self-sufficient drunk—one who could walk and talk fairly decently… but also one who spilled his guts and drowned in his feelings, apparently. That would be something you kept in mind for the future. On any day not to have worn a jacket, this one had to be the worst. The wind outside was extremely brisk, and with night falling deeper, it didn’t make the circumstances any better. You whimper for what had to be the 4th time as your arms rub feverishly at your goosebump laced skin. _ It’s spring dammit! Why is it so cold out here, _ you ask yourself bitterly. While waiting patiently under the awning of the dormitory for Hide to find what he was searching for, you rock back and forth on your heels, trying to be optimistic. It’s not long before he gasps. 

“Oh no…”

“Oh no?”

“I left my lanyard at the party that has my pass-card on it,” he gripes, his glassy eyes growing shinier by the second. You struggle to find something to say. 

“It’s okay, I’ll swipe you in, okay? Terada should be home, right?” You reason with the intoxicated boy, shivering when a gust of brisk wind hits your prickled skin again. Hide sniffles and nods, “Yeah, he should.”

“See, everything is fine! Don’t worry.”

“Thank you so much ____, you’re a lifesaver,” he heaves out and breathes an equally deep sigh of relief. Meanwhile, your breath hitches at the wind once more. 

“C’mon let's go—”

He sticks an arm out in front of you when you begin to start walking as if he remembers something. You catch him when he almost stumbles, however.

“Wait a minute.”

“What’s wrong?”

“You're cold,” he murmurs and a moment later you feel his jacket land on your shoulders, the warmth of him exuding over you slowly. You give him a curious look as he puts his hands behind his head. 

“You’re gonna be cold now,” you remark. He doesn’t spare you a glance, but you can see the tug of his lips into a goofy smile.

“You need it more.” 

He braces himself and begins to jog sloppily towards the entrance of the dormitory, teasingly sticking his tongue out back at you and giggling in the process.

“Hey, Hide! W-wait for me dummy!”

* * *

_ Knock, knock, knock! Knock! Knock, knock!! _

No matter how many times he knocks, there’s no response. Hide is simply met with silence and the growing realization that he wasn’t going to get one. Disappointment slates on his face as he presses his forehead against the cold door and whimpers. 

“Everything okay?” You ask, pursing your lips inquisitively. 

“He’s not here…” he murmurs half-heartedly. You notice his knees buckling a bit and he finally peeps over at you slowly, “And I have to pee so bad, ____.”

Why'd he have to be such a cute, emotional drunk? He was still very much intoxicated but his speech had cleared up a bit. It’s like all of your feelings you had subdued for the time being were rushing to the forefront in a matter of seconds, all because of one stupid phone call. 

“I'll just… I’ll just ask our neighbors to let me sleep on their couch or something... if they’re there, I can’t hold it much longer,” he laments and sighs. Your eyes are concentrated as you think of something to say, something to do. “I'm good as long as they have some blankets.”

You finally utter into the silence. 

“Come crash at my place tonight,” you suggest and his hands falter for a moment before he can get to knocking.

“Are you serious?”

It takes you a moment but you soon realize exactly how bold that previous statement sounded and your cheeks flush a second later, “I just… I-I mean my roommate already told me she’d leave the door unlocked tonight if something like this were to happen, so it’s no problem! You're not sober and it’s safer at my place, so yeah...”

“Thank you ____,” he sputters as he engulfs you in a satisfying hug. Once again, your face is pressed into his chest and you can’t deny that it’s got to be one of your favorite feelings. A smile lingers on your lips while you squeeze him, and he has no other choice but to squeeze you back harder with just as much warmth. When you hear someone down the hall about to open their dorm door, you both let go of each other hastily. You pull the collar of his jacket up to shield your face from anyone else who might see it at that moment and peep up at Hide. 

“Alright let’s go drunkard. It’s getting late.”

“Okiedokie, pretty girl,” he nods and salutes while trekking right past you back to the elevator. You cover your newly hot cheeks with your hands while trailing closely behind him, finally traveling to your dormitory.

The door is unlocked just as Ai said she would leave it, and you enter the dorm ever-so-quietly, making sure to close the door softly after Hide’s entrance. Your mind flashes back to a couple of weeks ago when he was at your door asking if you were okay… that familiar pang of guilt strikes your heart once more. It was time to apologize. 

He wouldn’t even remember it, which was fine with you, it actually made things easier on your conscience. You could say whatever you wanted to say and spill your guts equally and he wouldn’t be able to judge you for it in the morning. This was simply to lift a major weight off of your chest so you could sleep better tonight. Then later on another day, you’d apologize for real. You finally hype yourself up enough to do it. 

“Hide I have to tell you something—”

“Where’s the bathroom?” he replies quickly. You had forgotten about his dire need to relieve himself on the drive across campus. 

You point towards the living room, “It’s...It’s that door over there, but I just wanted to tell you something first. Hide, I’m sor-”

“Gotta pee,” you barely hear him mumble out before hastily stumbling off to your bathroom. 

Immediately, your heart plummets to the pit of your stomach. There was no use trying to say it now, what was the point. Sighing, you trek off to your room and plop down on your bed. You make sure to leave the door open so he doesn’t get lost and find his way into Ai’s room by accident—God you hope that didn’t happen, she’d kill you before the sun rose. 

In the meantime, you take advantage of the time alone to change out of your dress and put on some more comfortable clothes. You slip his jacket off of your shoulders, staring at it for a long moment before draping it over your desk chair gingerly. A month ago, this kind of situation would’ve seemed bizarre to you. You had never done this for anyone but Ai, sometime after you first met her, and even that was something _ way _ out of your comfort zone. Moreover, you would’ve never pictured yourself in this position with him of all people. 

If it were any other person, you would’ve sent them straight to the couch, however, Hide was a special case. If you were in his shoes you know he’d let you sleep on the bed until you were sobered up, because that’s what friends do. _ Friends… _ However, the mere thought of the boy you had been avoiding for so long because of your inevitable feelings bubbling up sleeping beside you in your bed made your face radiate with heat. ____ _ you’re a grown woman, get a hold of yourself! _ You mentally slap yourself and allow some determination to cross your face. _ This isn’t the first time you’ve slept with a boy and this won’t be the last so suck it up! _Nodding and huffing with newfound confidence, you tuck yourself in the blankets and wait for your friend to come in.

And come in he does.

Hide creeps through the door and nearly stumbles in from how tired he was. His alcoholic high was coming to an end. You mull over how Hide looked like a little kid wandering into the room: rubbing his glassy eyes with the loose sleeves of his shirt, yawning and mumbling, whining out your name. Before you could even answer him he’s stripped his hoodie off, kicked his pants down, and flung himself on top of you— head nestling in the crook of your neck and his legs locked on either side of your waist. His warm skin greets yours naturally, almost too naturally. You tried to protest, of course, but you figured once drunk Hide had marked his territory and chosen where to sleep, that was that. No one else was to blame for this situation but yourself. And yet, you wholeheartedly accepted the consequences, just this once. In the morning you would return back to normal separation, you promise this to yourself before melding with his body and closing your eyes. 


	7. The Hangover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter because the next one is fairly long ^^'

Hide wakes up to an unfamiliar bed. 

Not only unfamiliar, but empty as well. 

It’d be a lie to say he hadn’t been in this position a couple of times before, more so in his late freshman year when he was exploring his newfound liberty away from home. He winces and pushes himself up from his elbows, rubbing the sleep from his eyes so hard that he sees stars. 

His brows furrow in unison as he tries to look around the room for some indication of who he’s slept with this time. With hazy eyes, he spots a backpack tossed near the desk with a particular Studio Ghibli keychain he’s so used to seeing. 

“No…” he mumbles, eyes continuing to scan the accompanying picture frames on the dressers, “No, no, no, no…”

Hide scrambles from his more-than-comfortable spot between your sheets and grabs his phone, nearly falling flat on his chin in the process; it’s 11 in the morning. Before he can even get to what he’s looking for in his call log, he notices you sent him a few texts a couple of hours ago. 

** _Big Meanie ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ : [left for work]_ **

** _Big Meanie ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ : [coffee in the fridge and eggs on the counter for you. advil near your clothes]_ **

** _Big Meanie ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ : [pls lock the door when you leave thx]_ **

Sure enough, there’s a small bottle of Advil tossed on top of his clothes. 

“Fuck my life,” he groans. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

He snatches it up and tugs on his wrinkled clothes. The dorm was dead silent, he knew from prior talks with you during lazy afternoons that your roommate slept in on weekends while you worked. 

_ “She works weekdays at a 9-5 job and I work weekends because I have no friends to spend my time with anyways”, _ you’d tell him with your feet gently propped up in his lap. And to that, he would look at you with familiarly fond eyes and respond with, “_You have me though”. _

Hide frowns at the memory as he tips-toes around, carefully putting your bedding back in place. He questions himself of whether he should text you back, at least a thank you, right? Yet, being unable to recall the... _circumstances _of last night made him fret on whether any response would be the right one. The best-case scenario would be to just let it be, of course against his better judgement. 

Hide creeps into the kitchen and plops himself at the table quietly after snatching up the plate left by you on the counter. The thought of you cooking for him made him sigh.

“She really doesn’t make this easy, huh?” he mutters to himself. 

Hide rakes his hands in his hair and groans once more.

He needed to leave your place before the thoughts started becoming more mind consuming, or else he’d get more and more flustered and your roommate might catch him looking like a tomato. He ends up scarfing down the food and washing the dish for you before jetting out of there.

* * *

“Stupid Hideyoshi Nagachika… stupid cute face… stupid cute body…” you mutter to yourself while ambling down the street swiftly. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

You huff in irritation as your strides grow faster. The situation had been plaguing your mind all day. You couldn’t even focus properly at work without thinking about how you blew a whole evening over a cute drunk boy just because he made your heart slam against your ribcage. How could you have let drunken accidental words take you over so easily? You didn’t even know if he meant them or not!

“I’m such a fucking idiot.”

You finally reach your car and sigh. All you wanted to do was go home, drown in your blankets, and forget about everything that didn’t involve being asleep. That apology that you had taken upon yourself to build towards would have to wait for another time when you didn’t have subtle steam coming from your ears. Until then, you planned on keeping your distance all over again. 

* * *

To flush his brain of the situation he’d awoken to this morning, Hide decides to throw himself into his schoolwork, full force. Of course, this was only a temporary fix to a bothersome problem, one that kept growing bigger and bigger in his mind with every passing minute. Hide’s hands hover over the keyboard of his computer idly as his eyes gaze at the screen. The corners of his mouth twitched in frustration and he moves to rub his pulsating temples instead. _ Just type, you doofus_, he thinks. A moment later, the still air in his room feels brisker than usual, and he swivels his chair around swiftly.

“You have a knack for coming at all the wrong times,” he murmurs bitterly. There’s a faint smile that crosses the intruder’s face while he swings his feet back and forth off the edge of Hide’s bed.

“You seem like you’re having a rough day, chief,” Terada spouts in observation while his eyes flicker all over the room. Hide follows his lead, acknowledging to himself how his bedroom looks more chaotic than usual. He figures the douche is actually right for once. And he can’t figure out why, but he actually answers him with honesty.

“I'm just a bit frustrated. I can't get my work done because my mind is everywhere.”

Hide slouches in his desk chair and heaves a sigh. 

“You gonna say why or am I gonna have to actually ask?”

He hesitates as he side-eyes Terada for a brief moment before deciding to spill his guts. 

“I see her for the first time in weeks and I’m too drunk to even remember it.”

His roommate’s brows hitch, “She came to your rescue, huh? You could’ve just called me, you know.”

“It was a fucking stupid subconscious mistake,” Hide mutters in self-deprecation, “That’s not even what bothers me the most!”

“So what is it then? What’s bothering you the most?”

“Why didn’t she say no?” His brows knit together.

“Obviously she cares.”

Terada falls back onto Hide’s bed and sighs. Months ago his answers at this moment would’ve been completely different. He probably would’ve seen this as a competitive advantage in a race to sleep with you first, one he could use to make Hide steer clear of you. Yet, now he truly realized just how much this girl had affected Hide. Of course, he didn’t know all the details of what had been taking place the last few weeks, but if anything, the least he could do was let the boy vent.

“Why ignore me for weeks but…” Hide can’t even finish the statement. Every word he let’s fall from his lips gives his frustration more and more momentum. 

“I think you need to take some time for yourself, Hide,” Terada murmurs a moment later. Hide spins his chair around slowly and glances at him with curious eyes. “Have you thought about just giving her the space? It’s not like she’s going anywhere, obviously.” 

All of the tension built up in Hide’s limbs releases like a deflated balloon. Of course; the one thing Hide had not thought about this whole time was respecting your choices. Why had he not considered your feelings? Suddenly, his face flushes with chagrin. 

“I’m so selfish,” he mutters. 

“As long as you remember those words are yours and not mine.”

“Alright, alright, now get out of my room!”


	8. The Truth (or Dare?)

Kaneki liked long conversations, and he especially liked that you knew how to keep one going so well. Moreover, it wasn’t going to be much of a problem for you today, especially, seeing as you had some weeks to make up for. He had been waiting for a while to hear this story from you so, when lunch rolls around and he spots you at the predetermined table you two had texted about, he can’t help the broad smile that crosses his face. While on your social hiatus, Hide had given a lot more attention to Kaneki than before of course. But, that was because Kaneki withstood the endless conversations about missing you with the boy almost every day for _ weeks _, unbeknownst to you of course, but seeing you in person again added so much joy to his little caffeinated heart. 

Kaneki listens with enthusiastic ears and wide eyes at the tales of your run-ins with his best friend and their impact on your prior weeks. None of this stuff was actually surprising or new to him; truthfully, Hide had already told him every single thing he tried right after the incidents happened. He just enjoyed hearing it from the perspective of the person who wasn’t so lovesick in the situation. Or so he thought... At some point, you hated hearing the sound of your own voice droning on about Hide so you let Kaneki talk about himself as well. He explains how Nishiki had spilled hot coffee on a customer’s crotch last week and has been complaining about how he doesn’t get paid enough for touching said customers “nuts” ever since. That was definitely noted in your mind to be brought up in a later disrespectful stint he tried to pull, if any. Then, he talks about normal stuff like school and his finished midterms.

Your phone pings with a notification from your school app for your courses. _ Speak of the devils. _ Normally you would’ve ignored it, but you had been on edge waiting for this exact notification to pop up any time now. 

“Ah!”

“What’s wrong?” Kaneki says quickly. You can’t answer him immediately because your eyes are scanning the screen intently until you find exactly what you’re looking for. 

“I passed!”

Kaneki cocks his head curiously, “You...passed?” 

“I took the midterm a couple days ago and the results just came in!”

“What’s your grade?” he marvels. 

Cue the nervous sweat— you scratch your head and offer him a smile so broad your eyes close, “Let’s not get too wild here Ken! I passed, that's all that matters.”

He chuckles, “You’re right, congrats ____.”

As your talk with him came to a gradual end, he couldn’t help but say one thought he had been stuck on for the entirety of your conversation.

“Are you going to tell him how you feel? Well, at least now that the tutoring is over for the moment.”

You gaze at him with a blank face, reveling in the blatant question, but soon it changes to one of guilt and solemnity. 

“I…I don’t know if I should.”

“You should,” he says. As much as he didn’t want to interject his opinion into the situation, it was obvious you weren’t going to do it without it. “You’ll be fine. Just be honest and then you’ll feel much better.”

“I saw him talking to a girl at the party that night,” you mention just to find a reason to object but Kaneki shakes his head with a smile. 

“____ you’re forgetting how friendly of a person Hide is. Look how far we’ve come in the span of a month or more,” he laughs wholeheartedly at his own words. “He doesn’t have his eyes on these people whatsoever, I promise.”

There’s something in his eyes that’s trying to tell you something beyond that, you just can’t figure out what it is. Regardless, you take his words for what they’re worth and sigh, even though you still don’t believe it. 

“Fine, I’ll tell him. Eventually, okay?” He nods. “That way, when I get rejected, you can be there to console me.”

Kaneki takes a sip of his drink to keep from saying anything out of his jurisdiction, as always.

“I should get going, to be honest,” you tell him a moment later, standing to your feet. You pull your bag over your shoulder and match his frown with an equally displeased one.

“So soon?”

In actuality, you both had been talking for hours (despite Kaneki’s plaguing thoughts about his essay due by the evening time), but with friends like you or Hide or Touka, it always felt like mere minutes that you were chatting. He really needed to work on that. 

“I have some cleaning to do actually, or else my roommate might murder me in my sleep.”

“That is a pretty valid reason.”

You almost say goodbye but then you stop in your tracks. _ Should I... _

“You’ve always told me if I needed anything to just ask, yes?” you ask quickly, simply to reassure yourself that you wanted to proceed with your next words. 

He ceases his own movement of packing his things and nods, “Of course.”

“Well,” you begin and pause. You try to mesh the right words in your head so that they don't come out like a desperate plea or a jumbled up mess. “You see, I need to know where Hide is. I haven’t seen him at all this week, which is out of the normal... I usually at least spot him in the lecture hall or the library a couple of times, but I haven’t whatsoever.”

“He’s cooped up in his dorm, studying for some English test. He hasn’t been by the coffee shop either.”

That was completely believable, Hide was an English major student after all. You let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you so much,” you slap your hands together and bow, “I gotta get going now. I’ll drop by the shop tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” he chuckles, “Good luck ____!”

But by the time this leaves his lips you’re already jogging to the door of the bustling cafeteria. You had some things to take care of just before you could stop by Hide’s dorm. With any hope, he would still be there when you finally do. 

* * *

It’s like deja-vu. 

Here you were again, shuffling from foot to foot, trying to think up some type of _“Surprise! I’m back in your life for good now!”_ speech. Or maybe you should just knock, and let the words come naturally? The words always come naturally when it involves Hide. 

You grimace at yourself, _ get ahold of yourself you lovesick cornball, sheesh. _

Your fist falters right before you can knock on his door. How do you look him in the face after the last few weeks of bullshit you put him through, and especially after that particular evening. You take a deep breath and try to calm your nerves, _ come on ____ you got this. _

Following your knock, albeit shy and so light you question if anyone will even hear it inside, is complete and utter silence. And yet, the moment you wonder if you should try once more the door opens. Hide’s brows hitch at the sight of you right in front of him, something he hadn’t imagined to see for a while. Your heart stops— what do you say?

There’s a silent dialogue between your eyes before you speak.

“I… passed my exam,” you murmur, the corners of your mouth twisting into a small, shy smirk. You subsequently hold up the small plastic bag in your hand. He eyes the gentle steam pouring from the opening. “Want to celebrate with me?”

Hide’s mind reels briefly with the memories of himself just a week of nights ago, in his drunken stupor, sad and lovesick. It makes him hesitate. But then, he also thinks of all the stress you’ve been putting up with this week as a result and figures you both could use a break, and some well needed tension-loosening.

“I’d love to.”

Hide wastes no time in getting you in and locking the door. You’re used to him shielding you from the other guys of the hall, so it was no problem, it actually made you happy. It felt just like old times.

“What are you over there smiling about?” he asks. Your face drops immediately after you've been caught; you hadn’t even realized you were grinning. 

“Nothing, it’s just been a while since I’ve been over here,” you hum, gazing around. 

You toss your jacket on the couch and follow him into the kitchen to set the food down on the counter while he grabs water. He was so used to you requesting it previously that he didn’t even have to ask now. You feel like you’re at home, comfortable all over again.

“So,” he sighs, “You’ve upgraded from history idiot to half a brain, huh?”

He hands you a bottle and you snicker. 

“Let me have my subtle victory in peace please, I worked hard for this.”

“You’re right, you did,” he agrees as he plucks a chicken wing from the box. “You did a lot of it on your own… I give you the utmost props for that.”

“You’re forgetting something, Hide.”

“What’s that?”

“I couldn’t have done it without your help.”

The moment those words leave your lips, your eyes softens and a large wholesome smile takes up so much of your face that you can’t see behind your cheeks. The way you look in this moment, the genuine joy radiating off of you… it smacks him in the face (and the weak heart) hard. Hide drops his chicken wing at the mere sight. You’re snapped out of your happiness immediately to find him scrambling for it on the kitchen floor, semi-searching but also semi-trying to allow the widespread blush on his face to die down before he can stand again. 

“Sorry... I’m acting just as clumsy as you, ahaha...” he tries to laugh things off with a poorly executed joke and shoots to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. You gaze at him curiously. “You're welcome, it’s really no problem ____.”

You both sit silently and eat for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other’s presence, something you hadn’t done in a while. It fills you with more joy than he could possibly comprehend that he had even opened the door to you. So, for now at least, you wouldn’t beat yourself up for soaking in the moment. Hide stands from his seat and stretches, then throws you a questionable gaze. 

“So what’s your idea of a celebration exactly? Netflix? A game?” he inquires quietly, washing the grease from his hands. “Terada is out for the evening, so it’s just you and I.”

“A game? Maybe. What game though?” You lean against the counter and start to ponder on what to play. Something like_ Cards Against Humanity _ couldn’t be done with only two people and you didn't peg Hide as much of a cards person. Maybe he had some video games he’d be willing to teach you in the moment. You smile at the thought. Hide has his back turned to you as he searches for something in the cabinet, and as soon as it’s found he hollers in triumph.

“Truth or dare, spiked edition,” he finally suggests, setting a hefty bottle of clear tequila on the table in the kitchen. “Just to make the evening interesting. Each choice comes with an ultimatum: fulfill the truth or dare, or drink your turn clean. Deal?” 

You gaze at his outstretched pinky. Such a risky game to play with the condition of your heart and emotions within the last month—he could ask any number of questions if he played his cards right. However, Hide was so idiotic in regards to emotional intelligence. There was nothing to fear. You smile and link your pinkies.

“Deal.”

“After tonight we need to take a break from alcohol for a while, okay?” he continues and you nod.

“I can dig that.”

“In that case, let the games begin.”

Hide pre-pours 6 shot glasses and they sit ever so menacingly on the counter, ready to be drunk by the first loser. He peeps the way you eye the glasses and chuckles before dropping himself on the sofa. 

“Are you a lightweight?”

“Sorta,” you reply while sitting adjacent to him on the floor. Hide’s eyes analyze your face to see if you’re joking before nodding and coming to a conclusion in his head.

“Well, I'll go easy on you then,” he hums, then quickly adds, “Can’t have your liver _ and _your brain rotting.”

“Aw,” you give him a toothy grin, “Look who knows how to be a half-decent human being. Truth or dare?”

You quickly stuff your face with a chicken wing and he rolls his eyes playfully. You needed to offset the alcohol enough to be able to play the game at least for a little while, so stuffing your face was gonna be your new friend.

“Truth.”

“What is something you hate about the opposite gender?” You ask with full cheeks.

“Females are so mysterious,” he says quietly. “Don’t particularly hate it but it kinda sucks.” 

“Mysterious? How so?”

“You should know, you’re the prime suspect, miss...”

You gasp and swallow, “I am not mysterious!”

“Oh yeah?” he quickly challenges and then a small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth as he cocks his head, “Where have you been for the last few weeks then?” 

“I… was just studying my ass off. And doing normal girl things. That’s not mysterious.” 

Your brows furrow when he gives you a goofy look that can only be taken as the detection of bullshit. You huff and fold your arms. 

“Truth or dare, mysterious lady.”

You roll your eyes and sigh, “Dare.”

“Draw me or take a shot,” he proposes, eyeing his notebook and pencil bag sitting idly on the table in front of you.

“I…” you suddenly clam up. “Well it’s not gonna be any good.”

“I’ve seen the sides of your notebook, I have full confidence in you,” he chuckles. You sigh and grab it, flipping to a blank page quickly. “Wait.”

You hum curiously at his sudden command but nearly drop your pencil the moment your eyes glance up. Hide peels off his hoodie and his shirt follows close behind. Your brows subtly hitch when your eyes scour the way his lean tummy peeks out from the lip of his boxers ever so slightly. He turns to face you, and you avert your eyes while he stretches his arms over his head. It wasn’t the first time he had done something like that, but the bare chest and biceps outstretched in front of you were new and everything except unattractive. _ Christ… _

“You, uh, gonna leave the pants on, right?”

“Am I making you uncomfortable already?” he asks, cocking his head curiously. There’s a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips. “There’s a perfectly good bottle of tequila on the counter right now if so.”

“Trust me, after seeing your full frontal on the first day I met you, nothing quite bothers me anymore,” you say and give a sickly sweet smile that makes his heart pound against his chest, “Not even that one little chest hair you have.”

He pouts, “Ouch.” 

Hide positions himself on the sofa and, although the entire situation is comical like the worst Titanic rewrite created, there’s a bit of obvious tension in the air that keeps you on edge. At least drawing him gave you a reason to stare without seeming weird. A few erasures later, you finished something you felt was worthy of scrutiny and tore it out of the notebook with gentle hands, handing it to him. Hide examines it and nods credulously; you smile in triumph.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” he hums. 

“I dare you to put your shirt back on, please.”

“Roger that, captain.”

It goes back and forth like this for a while, and Hide can tell you’re enjoying his company, but your phone keeps going off in the middle of your sentences. With every text, your face loses an ounce of its joy. 

“Everything okay?”

“My roommate is pestering me,” you answer truthfully, replying to another one of her texts. 

** _Ai-kun: [the kitchen is still a mess...]_ **

** _You: [i told u smthn came up and I’d do it tommorroww aiii]_ **

** _Ai-kun: [why won’t you tell me where you’re at then? plus you’re drinking I can tell!!]_ **

** _Ai-kun: [please tell me you're not with him...?]_ **

“I may have slipped away from chores to come see you with the intention of returning an hour ago.”

“____,” Hide gives you a stern look, “You’re telling me you can take a break for one evening or else she’ll lose her mind?”

“I’m sorry, to both of you,” you mutter as you put your face in your hands and groan. He wasn’t supposed to know about any of that but your mouth just couldn’t lie to him. Not tonight after so much lying already. 

“Relax dude, this is supposed to be a fun evening.” 

You can't help but chuckle at how laidback he is compared to your frazzled brain at the moment. Your phone buzzes a few more times, more texts from your roommate. You sigh heavily. Instead of responding, you look at him with pleading eyes.

“I feel bad now, Hide.” 

“Well, give me this,” he swipes your phone from your hands nimbly. 

You yelp and scramble for his hands, ultimately failing, “At least let me reply back before you take it, please! That’s all I ask.” 

Hide feels his cheeks heat up with such close proximity to your body and sighs, handing over the phone gently.

“Fine.”

You manage to type out a quick “gotta go” and “turning off phone” before handing him the phone voluntarily, and he tosses it a few feet away on the carpeted floor. 

“Sheesh don’t break it!”

“We’ll get it later,” he insists. 

“And, you’re gonna stay here tonight,” he adds quickly, “So suit up.”

“_That _ won’t be necessary at all. She’ll really freak out then.”

“Tonight isn’t about her, plus I owe you for last week.”

“Hide…” you begin with a sigh, “I can get back to my dorm later just fine.”

“With the way you’ve been skipping turns? I think not.”

Your cheeks flush with embarrassment, you did reveal earlier that you were a lightweight after all. 

“Disrespectful,” you huff. As he speeds off to his room. 

“Here,” he digs in his drawers and emerges a moment later to toss you a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. “Make yourself comfortable, or take 2 shots. There’s no way I’d let you walk home wasted, and especially into a situation like that.”

Hide turns his back to you, silently encouraging you to strip with his shoulders. You do just that and put on his clothes quickly, pulling on the comfy sweats and tee with ease. Truthfully, he was a little more excited than he should have been to see you wearing his stuff. When he turned around, it was cuter than he even imagined it would be, the way they fit so snug on your entire being. 

“Thank you,” you finally cave and smile. “Let’s resume then.”

Like he had mentioned before, you had already skipped out on several innocent truth questions, mainly ones that would eventually lead to more personal answers that would then lead to confessions. At least you could count the number of shots you had taken on two hands still...or could you? Your eyes were starting to trick you with how many fingers you had. Maybe you _ were _ drunk already.

“You okay? We can stop and watch a movie or something?” Hide suggests. You shake your head with fervor. 

“I’m fine! This is fun. Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

He says this a bit hesitantly but still excited nonetheless. He hadn’t done a truth question in a bit. Hide could do embarrassing dares all evening if he was intoxicated enough. That was his key to winning this little game. But you seemed to have a liver of steel, even passing up on as many questions as you did. So therein lies the problem of who would truly tap out first. 

As for you, you wanted to test the waters a little.

“What did you first notice about me when we first met?”

He thinks for a long moment.

“You… were... just really pretty. That’s mostly what I remember. And that you were really desperate,” He cracked up so bad on the last part of the sentence that the words disappear with his laughs. As much as you wanted to take the first compliment for what it was, something that made your heart swell to the highest degree, you couldn’t help the way your eyes turned to slits as they glared at him. “Oh come on, can you disagree?”

“That’s not the point,” you grumble. “I’ll remember that on the next dare you choose.”

“Hit me with your best shot, babe.”

“My pleasure, sweetheart.”

A handful of rounds and taken shots later, you both are teetering on the edge of full intoxication. You grip your head in your hands; time feels like it’s slowed down immensely. You both are lying on the floor of the living room but nobody wanted to cave just yet. This was to be expected with two people who had such big personalities and strong rivalry instincts in the same dumb little competition.

“Truth or dare?” you drawl, lazy eyes falling to gaze at Hide.

“Give me a dare...”

“Dare you to show me your computer history... or take 4 shots,” you offer. This had to make him tap out— and yet Hide actually considers the ultimatum. 

“Your history is that bad?!” you giggle, “Holy shit.”

“Know what, fuck it. Follow me.”

He pushes himself up from his weak elbows and treks off to his room, and you follow behind him sloppily as soon as you can manage to get onto your feet. It’s dark and the only light in the room is the computer that illuminates Hide’s face as he logs into it. 

“How many chicks have you had sex with in this tiny room?” you murmur absentmindedly, glancing around at the surroundings. He was surprisingly decently neat… aside from a stack of magazines on the floor that was sloppily covered by a jacket. You guessed it was probably the porn; the very porn that had brought you two back together in the beginning of this relationship. Anime posters covered his walls along with some record covers and maps. It was a perfect representation of his personality, the complexity of his interests.

“Why? Are you trying to have sex with me in here?” He asks curiously after a moment, swiveling his chair around in leisure. The look he gives you is blank, yet there’s something a little unwholesome behind those lashes. He pushes his bangs from his forehead and cocks his head curiously. It’s not until he taps his lap that you start sputtering.

You roll your eyes and spit out, “In your dreams! I’m just curious, is all...”

Hide chuckles and spins his chair back to his computer, “I’m kidding, relax stupid.”

Although, while he's clicking away, you think you hear him mumble something jokingly under his breath: _ There's a reason why this desk has a loose leg. _

“Hey—are you deleting stuff?!”

“N-no!”

“Hands off!” 

You insert yourself between his knees and the computer and begin to scroll with renewed determination. There’s a bunch of things he opened for his foreign language studies. You disregard the couple of porn searches, that was predictable. Then, you catch it:

_ “Coping with silent treatment” _

_ “Reasons why a girl would be mad at you” _

_ “How to know why a girl is mad at you” _

You press your lips into the tightest, thinnest line you can manage, effectively shielding any chuckle that dared to come out from between them. This is probably why he didn’t want you to look at the history: he was embarrassed. You acknowledge that this was mainly your fault. 

“On another note,” Hide interrupts your train of thought before you can even start to think about asking about the two searches. A good play on his part indeed, “I do have a question.”

“Is this a truth question?” you retort and look back at him.

“Sure. Or you can drink... _ three _shots.”

“Then I’m listening,” you sigh heavily. No more alcohol, your body couldn’t take it. You’d either have to bow out or answer his question and you weren’t pussy enough to quit yet.

“Did we?”

You turn back and peep at him in confusion, “Did we what?” 

“Have sex together,” he can’t control the way his eyes fall to your feet and give you a once over just for kicks, something to make you spill the beans quicker so he could ease his brain. “That night you took me in, I mean.”

“Would it bother you if we did?” You ask with piqued curiosity. 

The question in general makes your body flush with heat, so you dismiss yourself from the view of computer light and fall onto his bed instead. The way the darkness swallows you is just what you need to open up, if need be.

“A little,” he muses quietly. 

“Oh? Why’s that?” you drawl, eyes unable to focus on one steady view, “I’m that unattractive?”

“Besides my sober consent?” he replies just as coyly. Then, Hide thinks for a long moment. In this very moment he had lost all inhibition, he might as well say whatever the fuck he wants regardless of the consequences. There was no going back now, “The way I dreamed up us falling in love didn’t start that way particularly...”

Then he ponders on how to follow that up. Maybe he’d delve into the topic of his ideal date with you.

“If you have wet dreams about me that’s all you had to say Mr. Nagachika,” You counter so quickly it surprises yourself. You couldn’t help being in an automatic-jokingly-defensive mode after the last month, who wouldn’t be? He was just pulling your leg as always, right?

Hide laughs, “Amongst other genres, yeah, since tonight is all about _ truth_, right?”

Your chest suddenly clenches. Other genres? That’s when you realize this man is being completely and utterly truthful with you, there were no jokes written on his face. You imagine Hide dreaming of holding your hand or going to movies, and more. You wonder how long he had been feeling like this... And how oblivious were you to have never noticed? Was he just that good as a disguiser of emotions? Possibly. You're caught up in your thoughts as usual, yet they’re amplified by alcohol and romantic weakness. 

“You still haven’t told me yes or no,” Hide hums, and you snap back into reality.

“No, we didn’t have sex,” you finally tell him. And before he can insert some other teasing comment after, you thumb at your phone to cut on a random playlist. The music cuts him off immediately. “We also didn’t dance at the party like you wanted, so c’mon.”

You stretch out your arm while the music starts to pick up a little, kicking your hips around gently. It wasn’t loud enough to bother anyone in the neighboring dorms at this time of evening, but it was reasonable enough to make you want to zone out. Hide sits silently and just watches you for a moment. There was so much tension in the room just between your eyes alone that was starting to make your throat dry. Maybe you _ would _ take the next drink. It'd be better than to stand here and fail at matching Hide’s ability to have you weak in the knees with no effort.

“Oh c’mon, you’re really gonna make me dance by myself, on the celebration of my hard work?”

“I don’t dance.”

“I beg to differ,” you remark quickly. “Maybe it’s only when you’re drunk enough, huh?”

He can detect the slight disappointment in your face and sighs.

“You’re the only person I’d make this exception for. Count yourself lucky.”

“I’m honored, truly,” you assure him with a smirk.

He pushes himself from his chair and engulfs you in a hug that attempts to sway back and forth with your body. You try to contain your giggles, ones that make him pout slightly.

“Oh come on, cut me some slack. I’m not good at this.”

“You don’t have to be, I’m enjoying this just fine.”

Hide laughs and squeezes you a bit tighter.

“Truth or drink, ____,” the way your name cutely rolls off his tongue and how his eyes close with a smile… it makes your heart skip a beat.

“No dare?”

“I’m just trying to even out the score,” he admits as his tongue darts out to wet his lips nervously. 

“Oh, that’s fair to you?” you feign disappointment, but he knows better with the way you both have been teasing each other all evening.

“Hardly, but I’ve revealed a lot tonight and you’ve gotten off pretty easy, you know.”

“Easy, huh… Shoot your question, then, Mr. Genius.”

He pauses for a brief moment while scanning your face before asking, “Am I attractive enough for someone like you to sleep with, then?”

“Someone like me?” Your brow raises slightly.

“You know, an idiot.”

You let out a chuckle and allow the usual snide pet name to roll off your shoulder. 

“The ever-so-attractive and ever-so-smart Hideyoshi, wanted by many,” you begin, mind reeling with unpleasant memories of a few weeks now when you were so jealous. And yet here you were, in Hide’s bedroom, with his arms around you fondly, following the rhythm of your body. And earlier, he had indeed told you flat out that he was attracted to you… there was no reason to not return the favor. “I’d be lucky to get an opportunity like that, you know?”

“Oh yeah?” he quietly encourages you to keep going. His ego and his heart swell with over-satisfaction, but that’s clearly spelled out on his face with the increasing redness that hopes the darkness is covering up.

“Yeah,” you reassure him, “But you seem to be pretty taken care of currently.”

Hide cocks his head in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“You always have better girls available… you even missed our tutoring session for that date one time...”

His mind takes a few seconds to process that statement before it clicks. And when it does, he’s completely in awe of you.

“Oh, so you _ were _ jealous that day!”

There's a long pause before you gaze up at him with heartbroken, glassy eyes. Ones that make Hide want to melt into a puddle on the floor.

“To be honest... yes. I couldn’t stand it, Hide.”

Hide’s body ceases altogether and you’re dragged to a halt abruptly. That simple sentence set off a trigger.

“I know we said we were just gonna celebrate, get wasted and all that jazz,” he begins and pauses to drag his eyes to your lips. You hum so he knows you're listening, but your eyes are still trained on trailing the expanse of his neck and down to his torso, ever so casually peeking from underneath his ridden up t-shirt. "But all I can think about right now is my tongue in your mouth."

His lips are only centimeters away and you want the space gone.

“That’s just the alcohol talking,” you murmur. Somehow your subconscious doesn’t want to believe this. Just like most things, your brain is doubting the validity of the moment. But it had to be real— the rubbing alcohol-esque smell on his lips was very real, the way his pupils are blown in lust as well. It’s all so very real and overwhelming. 

“I promise you it’s not.”

“What’s stopping you then?” you press, testing the waters. That particular question goes unanswered. You’re right, what _ is _ stopping him? A dare? Rather, Hide leans in and connects your lips like he’s been wanting to do for such a long time.

He kisses you gently at first, rendering you completely incapable of words, syllables, and anything in between. Your body becomes rigid for a brief moment, your ears keenly trained on the mingling breaths and pants between you. His lips are so soft, even with their slight chapped skin, and it’s so timid, but they intend to shut you up and that’s exactly what they’re doing. Your eyes flutter shut gently at the acceptance of your body’s capture; there’s no stopping your coy ambitious hands that travel and press up against his chest as you finally succumb to your feelings. And upon your tongues finally mashing together, you find yourselves falling back onto his bed clumsily.

Your hands don’t miss a beat, grappling at any part of his bare torso from under his shirt, nails sinking into his skin. The tension of the evening - no, the last month - was finally coming to its climax and resolution. The heat building up under your touch was becoming too much for him. His hand grasps your chin as he presses sloppy kiss after sloppy kiss to your mouth, your tongues intertwining and the taste of tequila was almost overwhelming by this point. He needs to stop for air or else he’s gonna feel like he’s suffocating.

“A-Ah fuck, you make me so nervous,” he mutters when he realizes you can probably feel his hands shaking when they move to grab at yours before they can get too far, gasping for air, “This isn’t fair... I’m usually not this bad with girls.”

You giggle warmly, “It’s not as bad as you think, I promise.”

“You didn’t speak to me for weeks, ____. ”

“Yes, and I regret every bit of it,” you admit, still trying to catch your own breath. Now surely that’s something Hide didn’t expect. He sits up a bit to examine the validity of your face, at least the best he can with blurry eyes. 

“Why’s that?”

“Because—I did it in response to fear of feeling more than I thought I should’ve been... And that was a mistake.”

There’s so much silence that settles over you two while Hide tries to process that he actually just heard those words come from your mouth. It’s something he had imagined a few times of course, in his wholesome dreams of you probably, but never something he actually pictured spilling from your lips. The reality of the situation was that you were here underneath of _ him _ , in _ his _ bed, telling him you had the same feelings for him as he had for you. He almost wants to laugh at how absurd the moment looks, but instead, he settles for worrying his bottom lip between his teeth self-consciously while his eyes fall to your lips once more. And, boy, do you notice. There’s enough curiosity in those irises of his behind those lashes that convey his mind anyways.

But then, he drops his head into the crook of your neck and simply breathes you in instead.

“I like you so much, you don’t even know the half, it’s so dumb really,” he begins with a wry chuckle, “And here I was thinking I fucked my chances up. Which I kind of did unintentionally still.”

He sighs and you close your eyes to bask in the moment, “For someone so smart, you can be really brainless sometimes.”

“Please, can you just say it back so I know this is real right now and I’m not dreaming.”

“I, ____ ____, have a big fat stupid crush on your dumbass... Hide Nagachika.”

“Wow,” he sighs, “How romantic, I’m swooning.”

“Shutup... Nerd…”

After a brief moment, Hide feels the weight of your head falling to rest on his own. He calls out your name but the only reply to the soft request is a drowsy groan, one so delicate he can barely hear it.

“____?” Hide immediately lifts his head to find your eyes closed. “You finally caved, huh?”

He would definitely be rubbing this in your face when you both woke up in some hours. 


	9. Update

Hello all!!

I just want to stop by and answer a question.   
  
Yes, this story is still ongoing— actually new chapter next week hopefully after my finals are finished this week (On the brink of graduation next semester woo! Lol). There’s more to this story, no worries. I’m sorry I’ve been gone for a while, with a mix of writers block and school, it’s been a bit overwhelming. School has been kicking my ass and I’m trying to kick it back. But yeah, hopefully I’m able to provide you with another chapter next week once I finish writing it ◡̈

Thank you for all the support with this fic it means soooooo much to me and it really truly does keep me going!! Some of you know I’m insecure about my writing so if I can get some of you to enjoy it that’s all that matters <3 Thank you again.   
  


-

senilesenpai <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <3 Your support means a lot!


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